Thursday, January 7, 2016

So Euro: Chevy Cruze Adds Hatchback to U.S. Lineup for 2017

-Chevrolet has taken the wraps off the new Cruze hatchback, which will join the sedan in the compact’s U.S. lineup this fall.

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The Cruze was redesigned for 2016, and this is the first time we’re seeing the hatchback version. The hatch, which is powered by the same 153-hp, 1.4-liter turbo four as the sedan, will be offered in the top two of the sedan’s four trim levels: LT and Premiere. But whereas the sedan uses a beam-axle rear suspension in all models save the Premiere, the hatchback will have an independent rear suspension both in the Premiere and the LT. The RS appearance package also is available on both models.

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Its wheelbase is unchanged at 106.3 inches, but the hatchback is slightly shorter overall. Still, it offers 18.5 cubic feet of cargo space, and up to 42 cubic feet with the seats folded.

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This is not the first time Chevrolet has offered the Cruze in a hatchback body style, but it’s the first time the company is such a variant in the States. The previous-generation Cruze was offered as a hatchback in Europe starting in 2012, and we even drove it, but we never got that version here. This time, our market not only is getting the more-Eurotastic body style, but we’re getting it before the Continent; Chevrolet says that the U.S. will be the first market to get the car.

For those who might think hatchbacks remain a dicey proposition for America, one of the Cruze’s closest competitors, the Ford Focus, offers a hatchback version, and that model accounted for nearly 40 percent of Focus sales in the U.S. last year. We also snap up a fair number of Mazda 3 hatches, not to mention Volkswagen Golfs. So while hatchbacks may be Euro, it’s fair to say that we like ‘em too.